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Introduction: 1. Miraculous gifts from the Holy Spirit enabled early
Christians to do great and mighty works.
a. These
spiritual gifts were given to reveal and confirm God's truths.
b. During
the time of spiritual gifts, the New Testament was not fully
revealed in a written form as it is today. Because of this, the
disciples needed the gifts to teach the gospel.
c. Additionally,
miracles of confirmation (signs) were needed to convince hearers
that the disciples were spokesmen for God. One of the gifts of
confirmation given by the Spirit was that of tongues—a sign to
the unbeliever, 1 Corinthians 14:22. 2. There are many today who profess to speak in
tongues like those in the Bible. But, is it really the same? Is
the Holy Spirit still giving men tongues and the other miraculous
gifts? The Lesson:
I.
What was speaking in tongues?
A. Tongues
were languages.
1. Acts
2:4 describes how the apostles began to speak with other
tongues.
2. Jews
from every nation were in Jerusalem and every man heard them speak
in his own language, Acts 2:5-6.
See also Acts 2:7-13.
3. The
apostles did not jabber with disconnected syllables coming from
the mouth; they spoke languages, languages that could be
understood, languages that men from the various provinces had
learned.
4. Biblically,
speaking in tongues was the miracle of speaking in a language that
had not been learned by the speaker. Thus it was an "unknown
tongue" to those who had never learned that language, 1
Corinthians 14:2. The language, however, was known and
understood by those whose native tongue it was, Acts 2:8.
5. The
gibberish and unintelligible sounds that some today call speaking
in tongues is not like that found in the Bible.
B. Tongues
were a sign to the unbeliever, 1 Corinthians 14:22.
1. This
gift was used in Acts 2 to convince unbelievers of the
truth spoken by the apostles, Acts 2:12, 33.
2. While
it is true that tongues could be used to teach the gospel to those
who did not understand the common tongue (Greek), that does not
seem to be its primary use. It was used as a sign to cause
unbelievers to believe, Mark 16:17-20. In no place were
tongues used as a sign that one is saved or that he is "close
to God." 3. Were the tongues of Acts 10:44-48 a sign? If so, what did it signify?
C. Tongues
was a less desirable gift than prophecy, 1 Corinthians 14:5.
1. In an
assembly where the language spoken was unknown, unless
interpretation was given, the hearers were not edified by the gift
of tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 27-32.
2. Read 1
Corinthians 14:18-19. Paul
used tongues outside the assembly. Tongues has limited use in the
assembly.
3. What
would happen if an unbeliever came into an assembly where
languages were spoken that the unbeliever didn't know and no
interpreter was present? They
would think the Christians were crazy, 1 Corinthians 14:22-24.
D. Tongues
could be controlled by the speaker, 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.
1. All things must be
done unto edification, 1 Corinthians 14:26, 40.
2. Only
two, or at the most three, could speak in an assembly, 1
Corinthians 14:27.
3. If no
interpreter was present, he must keep silent, 1 Corinthians
14:28.
4. Like
the tongue speakers, the spirits of the prophets were subject to
the prophets, 1 Corinthians 14:32, indicating the gifts
could be controlled.
II.
The gift of tongues was only one of many spiritual
gifts.
A. All of
the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 were
miraculous. A brief discussion of miracles is necessary to
understanding spiritual gifts.
1. Vine's
Expository Dictionary, (Vol. III, p. 75,) defines miracle as
"power, inherent ability, is used of works of a supernatural
origin and character, such as could not be produced by natural
agents and means."
a. If
a thing could be produced by natural means, it would not be a
miracle. b. Not everything men call miracles are miracles. Can you think of some cases where men may use the word “miracle” to apply to things that are not miraculous?
c. Men use
the word miracle very loosely because they just don’t
understand. As a result, the value of miracles is cheapened in the
minds of many people.
2. An
event may originate with God, and yet not be a miracle. A miracle
must supersede nature’s laws. Consider the following contrast:
a. God
delivered Peter from prison, Acts 12:6-11.
Did he use a miracle here? Absolutely.
b. God
delivered Paul and his shipmates, Acts 27:21-44. Though
Paul was told by an angel that God would deliver them, God used no
miracle in saving them. Deliverance came from God, but not by
means of a miracle. Those who believe God cannot work except by a
miracle limit God's ability and control over His creation.
3. The
gifts given by the Spirit were all supernatural in both origin and
character. They were miraculous abilities given to men to carry
out God's will in revealing His word. The gifts were not merely
the response of God to prayer. They were not ordinary occurrences.
They actually involved men possessing miraculous power from God.
See Acts 8:6; Philip worked miracles.
B. Miraculous
gifts were needed to reveal and confirm the word of God.
1. There
are nine gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, all of which
are miraculous.
2. Some at
Corinth argued over which gift was greatest.
Paul explained that all the gifts were from the same
Spirit, thus unity should prevail, 1 Corinthians 12:1-14.
3. These
gifts were used in the assembly to edify the church, 1
Corinthians 14:5.
4. They
served to reveal and confirm truth, 1 Corinthians 2:13;
Ephesians
3:3-5; Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3-4.
C. Miraculous
gifts were imparted by the laying on of apostles' hands.
1. Peter
and John were sent from Jerusalem to Samaria "that they might
receive the Holy Spirit," Acts 8:14-17. 2. Phillip was already in Samaria. See Acts 8:4-13. Why didn't this preacher give them gifts by his hands?
3. More
evidence that gifts were given by the laying on of apostles'
hands: Acts 6:6-8; 19:5-6;
Romans 1:11.
4. Imparting
of gifts by the laying on of apostles' hands is not to be confused
with the direct outpouring of the Spirit by Christ, John 1:33.
The laying on of apostles' hands is not referred to as "the
baptism in the Holy Spirit."
D. Miraculous gifts were
supposed to cease, 1 Corinthians 13:8-10.
1. In the
time of miraculous spiritual gifts, Paul said "we know in
part, and we prophesy in part.” 1 Corinthians 13:9.
2. When
you have "part" you do not yet have what?
The complete, perfect, or whole.
See 1 Corinthians 13:10.
3. What is
the "perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13:10?
It is revelation. The gifts only gave partial revelation.
But Paul looked toward a time when all of God’s will was
completely revealed to mankind.
4.
What
abides when the gifts cease?
Faith, hope and love abide.
See 1 Corinthians 13:13.
III.
How are the claims to tongues today to be explained?
A. An
emotional experience.
1. It is
often necessary for those who speak in tongues to be whipped into
an emotional frenzy in order to produce their phenomena. Many
people think they need a sign that God has accepted them.
2. They
have been taught that tongues is such a sign. If they have
tongues, it means they are close to God and are spiritual people.
They do not, however, speak actual languages by the Spirit of God.
B. A
learned experience.
1. Most of
us do not know "how tongues are supposed to sound." But,
if we have been exposed to those who profess to speak in tongues
and have learned the sounds from them, it would be
easy—consciously or unconsciously—to reproduce those sounds.
2. Some
people are actually taught "how to speak in tongues" by
repeating tongue-twisting phrases. It is worthy of note that this
non-miraculous phenomenon is found among many religions, including
both the Hindus and Muslims.
C. The
following questions may be asked of those who claim to speak in
tongues by the Holy Spirit.
1. Do you
speak a language known to others in the world?
Acts 2:6, 8, 11.
2. Are
your tongues used as a sign to unbelievers?
1 Corinthians 14:22.
3. Do
several speak in tongues at once in your assemblies?
1 Corinthians 14:27.
4. Do your
people speak in tongues only with an interpreter?
1 Corinthians 14:28.
5. Are
your assemblies conducted in an orderly fashion?
1 Corinthians 14:40. Conclusion: 1. The gift of tongues in the New Testament is to be
understood as the miraculous ability to speak a foreign language
that could be understood by those who had learned that language. 2. The gift of tongues was received in one of two
ways: 1) It was received by some through Holy Spirit baptism; 2)
It was received by others through the laying on of apostles'
hands. In either case, its purpose was to reveal and/or confirm a
message from God. 3. Modern tongue speaking is not Biblical tongue speaking at all and is a phenomenon common to some religions that do not profess Jesus as the Christ. The present practice of tongue speaking has no Biblical basis. In fact, most who claim to practice it violate plain passages of scripture when they do it.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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